FFexpress' new webpage...bleurgh

[JasonE]

could it take any longer to load? I always used to check the collectors corner to see what was coming in, but damn....
and they have Bartlett anthias listed as restricted, but not the tiger queens. Go figure.

[ReefEze]

i know... im trying to load it now... taakes longer then here (http://www.reefcentral.com)

[fishinchick]

Pretty graphics, except for that scrolling thing.
However, it takes too long to load (like another site I know of ;) ) and its a PITA to browse thru. I had all kinds of problems with the shopping basket, it crashed and froze a couple of times.
Not one of the better website upgrades I have seen in a while. IMO
Sorry.
I'm not impressed with it either JasonE.

[Capt Crabtabulous]

I agree. For those of us condemmed to use a dial up modem it's painful.

[Moreta]

I only go there on the Bosses time at work (DSL is great). Another vote for loads waaaaay too slow...

Tracy

[SaltwaterSensei]

I'm using cable and its still slow!

plus I like the look of the other one better, the new one is too much like the 'new fashion' of webpages. I just don't like where some websites are going its like they're going this GUI mac'ish XP'ish look that seems to becoming popular.....I really don't like it:rolleyes:

[organicreefer]

it sux

[bpaul_jpaul]

The DRY GOOD section sucks all so. Before you could see what your getting now it is almost a guess. They need to fix it fast. I will not view that site anymore because of this. Its not to that bad to view with a cable modem

I have a cable modem 1.5Mbit/sec. Its very fast yet why is this site so slow to down load....

Is there that much traffic for the server???

[dnjan]

One good thing, is that it shows if the livestock item is in stock.
(so the new site isn't all bad)

[MJB]

J,
Bleugh???.Gimme a call. Found a couple more Banggers in the Diadema--M

[Eric Boerner]

I agree...

Theres a lesson to be learned here... It's called BAD webdesign. :p

[birder2]

I have cable and it's not slow. I like where they are heading with it, but they should have had the whole thing worked out before posting it. I've built a few web pages myself and there's no excuse for not having everything worked out before you post your website. You can see how well your site works with your editor.

I was going to buy 40 lbs. of live rock from them, but since I couldn't get the info I wanted on the new site, I balked. I plan to do buisness with them as soon as they get that sight up and running because of their great reputation.

Besides, I should have just called the company to get the info I wanted that I didn't understand on the new website. I hear they are very helpful on the phone.

birder2

[SaltwaterSensei]

I feel they tried to hard to make thier site look to cool or have more appealing site by the way it looks, frankly I think the other one looks much nicer


Perhaps someone should email them this thread so they can see that in one case thier new site actually hindered one potential customer from buying from them, that should be noted out to them.

[D-Nak]

Most websites that have site credits ("site designed by... etc.) on the homepage are usually not built very well.

As a web designer myself, all I can say it that it doesn't look that bad, but from a usability standpoint it could use A LOT of work. I like the old site A LOT better.

While on the topic, I have to say that I don't like Custom Aquatics' site either -- I hate wading through long lists to find what I want. (and what do you know -- a site credit on the homepage!)


D-Nak

[SteveMH]

It's loading fast on cable for me. And I don't mind the design, actually I like a lot of it. But I do think the site navigation is horrible. Need to go back to the drawing board on that and start from scratch.

The Fiji live rock that's on sale for $161 with shipping is decent, I just recieved a box of it last week. I've seen better and seen worse. They did not honor the "$20 Welcome Coupon" they're offering for registering to the new site though, I guess because the rock is already on sale. And the shopping basket on the live rock sale page would not work, had to go through the regular live rock page to get it in my basket. Bugs are understandable, but they should have been ironed out before posting the site. It's not FFE's fault, they just got the wrong designer.

[SaltwaterSensei]

I still think some one should send them the link to this thread....


I would but currantly I'm dial up and can not connect at anything faster then 24k... enough said:(

[Hemmie]

I just went and checked. That's really slow for me too (dialup babe). Besides, the other site was like an old friend.:(

The livestock page (or whatever it is); I'd rather just click on the pics I want to see, not every single one, it takes up too much of my time. Maybe once it gets into my cache about 400 times:D, it'll be better.

On a slow site...I get nervous with the check-outs. If I time out, I never know if my order was placed or not, and in one case I ended up ordering twice. As a matter of fact, it was when I ordered my Tuskfish, and I ended up on the phone the next day frantically explaining that I wanted ONE fish.:D

I think we sometime balk at the "new", and do end up adjusting, but in this case it's just plain slow, and I think we've all had enough of "slow".;)

I too think this should be forwarded. I imagine we at RC are a big part of their MO business, and they might like the input rather than trying to figure out why their MO business has gone south.

In the meantime, I'd order by phone. :D

A lot of the newer sites have "flash" and heavy graphics which are a real problem for those of us on dialup. They don't realize that people click off and go someplace else rather than wait.

K.I.S.S. is more effective really.

[Wilafur]

i actually like the new look. i have dsl (1.3mb downstream) and the site loads pretty quickly.

the HUGE mistake they did was to "go live" with a incomplete website. shame on their web dork...errr....master. you never, ever, ever, ever "go live" without completing the site and then testing and debugging the code. did i already say shame, shame?

oh well.

[Project Reef]

I just think they need to start be honest about who they really are. And where they are REALLY getting their animals from, 15 minutes before you order and stop putting on this decieving Front.

Zip.

[ReeferAl]

I will cast another vote strongly in favor of the old site. I liked it. It was attractive and functional. The new site sucks. I tried to navigate it but it is slow and not nearly as clear as the old site. I gave up and went elsewhere.
Allen

[organicreefer]

Originally posted by Project Reef
I just think they need to start be honest about who they really are. And where they are REALLY getting their animals from, 15 minutes before you order and stop putting on this decieving Front.

Zip.


???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[SaltwaterSensei]

what do you mean project reef??????????


I don't know about them being "fake"......


But man thats an ugly slow site, at least now.....very disappointing.... I used to check the collectors corner every day, now I avoid it:( :mad:

[Project Reef]

Originally posted by Project Reef
Zip.

[SaltwaterSensei]

ok...

What the hell project reef??????? "zip" ??? what the hell does that mean???

You're confusing and strange.....at least in this thread;)

[Leopardshark]

Project, I think it´s time to increase your medication:D :D

For me (cable), the site was very fast, and going thru the menus wasn´t a hassle.

I like the new desing, it´s just that you just have to adapt to this one.

[Leopardshark]

Sorry, double post.:o
(time out my a**)

[Desolas]

It took 3 seconds for their front page to load for me, which is more than acceptable IMO.

The new colors and design look good, much better than before, and now their magazines ads make sense. "Come see our new web site." They have been advertising that for like 6-8 months, and I always wondered *** they were talking about.

It is hard to find shipping prices once you've added a few things to your cart, I'm not real fond of having to have an account with an e-tailer, but I guess it is standard now and isn't a big deal if you order more than once from them.

I did run into one Internal Server error when looking up a compatability chart for the Flame Angel; and when you view notes on a fish no picture is ever available, but since you can click the name and see the pic that's not a big deal.

I like it overall. On a score of 1-10 (10 being good) I would give it a 7. I would give it a 8 if I didn't encounter the errors.. I dig the graphics and the overall feel of the site is much nicer.

While there are still millions of people clinging to dialup, very few of are stuck with it. The broadband audience is large enough that it makes sense for them to go with this site, it shouldn't be that bad on good dialup, and it is flawless on broadband. If you think of their customer base, typically a reefer is not poor, and if they have a reef, a computer, and are shopping online for their reef, they will probably also have broadband.

Look at msn.com, it wasn't designed with dialup in mind. Hardly any page is anymore, we make our pages to be friendly on our outgoing bandwidth so they don't cost too much to run, but few designers care about the dialup audience anymore - the pool of broadband users to large enough that it is worthwhile to alienate, or push dialup users into buying broadband.

If you're really stuck with dialup because broadband isn't available in your area, I'm sorry, that really sucks; but if your choosing to stay with dialup because of broadband's price then you have no reason to complain that sites load too slow.

[Peabody]

I'm glad I'm not the only one. It's painful on a dialup. Many, MANY people still use dialup.... in fact, I bet it's the majority although I have no clue about the stats.

Eye candy is nice, but functionality is king.

[SaltwaterSensei]

Yes I agree that Broad band is more prevelant now then maybe 4 years ago. And that webdesign because of it can be more dynamic. BUT when your websites code is sooo jacked up that it makes most broadbadn users slow. then that is very wronge. They have a very bad webmaster.



P/S, did anyone ever email them this link?

[Reefan99]

I didn't have any problems using the site, but I am using a cable modem. The collector's corner is one click away from the home page which makes it a snap to get to and use. The dry goods section still leaves a little to be desired, but it looks like they are making changes gradually - every time I log on there are new fixes already made. I DO like the free shipping on the dry goods and the flat freight rate on the live things. I don't know what in G-d's name Project Reef is talking about with his "deceiving front" comments - time to take your head OUT of the tank and get some O2 back into that grey matter!!!!

[ChicagoReef]

I agree, the new site Sux!!!
I will be going elsewhere for my purchases! This is the straw that broke the camels back for me. Ever since the company was sold a few years ago, everything went down hill. I heard that the company was purchased by a local LA wholesaler. Isnt that illegal? They where a much better company before the sale. Not like Dr F & S, since the switch with them, everything is on the up. I have had no problems in the past with Dr's F & S like I have had w/ FFE in the past.

I feel sorry for the company, it was once a great comany to deal with. All good things must come to an end:(

Bill
Chicago Reef Club

[SteveMH]

:rolleyes:

[DiscoToo]

I just think they need to start be honest about who they really are. And where they are REALLY getting their animals from, 15 minutes before you order and stop putting on this deceiving Front.

Why don't you clarify your statement.

And a big thanks to the person who contacted us about this thread.

Unfortunately there is not much I can tell most of you here that would make you happy about the site right this moment. However, our designer is working on a dial-up friendly site. (because like many of you I am still on dial up). :D

We are working aggressively to resolve the existing issues with the site and we are very thankful to the many of you that have pointed out the bugs in the system. Please continue to vent your frustrations here on the board. I can assure you the guy who is cutting the check to the designer is watching:D

Peace all

Ron

[AuroraDave]

Originally posted by ChicagoReef
Bill
Chicago Reef Club

Bill
Can you give us some info on the Chicago Reef Club?

Thanks
Dave
Chicago Reefer

[SaltwaterSensei]

I'm glad someone sent the link to them, It will vastly imporive business I feel as many of us decided not to shop there after the change over.

May I ask why you changed? I seriously really enjoyed the older one it was easier to read and easier on the eyes.

[ffexpress]

Folks,

I am posting this response because of the many negative comments that have been showing up with regards to our new website. Having read them for a while now and refraining from a response I feel that I should offer my $0.02.

Let me begin this by apologizing in advance to all of you for any inconvenience the new site may have caused. When we bought FFE one of the first things we set out to do was to create a new website. Although the old site was simple and easy, it was archaic by any standard. It did not even have a shopping cart feature and the back end (the part we use behind the scenes) was continuously breaking down, requiring constant (and expensive) tweaking. Because of this we embarked upon a very costly and very long process to develop a new site that would offer our customers more convenience, ease of use, a pleasing appearance, and on our end, greater reliability and usability. We didn’t think for one minute that the end of all those long hours of work would be this. PLEASE believe me when I say that we had, and still have, the very best of intentions in launching this site.

Before we launched the new site we polled many people and almost every response was extremely positive. We know that the site had bugs and many of these glitches caught us by surprise after we launched. Murphy was hard at work and things that we had tested and retested went haywire when we went live. Nobody can seriously imagine that we just jumped into this without extensive testing and from what I hear most sites are “buggy� in the beginning. In addition to launching the new site we also initiated our new dry goods department, which was a massive undertaking on its own. The net result was that we experienced more than our fair share of problems. PLEASE rest assured that these problems are being addressed as quickly as possible and every one of your concerns and criticisms are being taken to heart. We know where our paychecks come from and YOUR concerns are our BIGGEST concerns. In this respect we are going to do everything humanly possible to get this website to a point where you like it and enjoy using it. If there is ANYTHING you don’t like about it or any suggestion you have for us, please email me directly.

One post that sincerely concerned me was the one from Chicago Reef. Since we acquired the company we have done nothing but concentrate on service, service, service. This means everything from customer service to shipping, convenience, product variety, and general caring for what we do. It has been a long road to turn this thing around and we have learned a lot along the way, but one thing we have NEVER compromised on is the unwavering service we have given our customers. No matter what has happened, no matter what the cause of any problem was, we have always taken care of our clients promptly and courteously. In addition we have introduced a number of new and exciting exclusive products to the market to complement our Diver’s Den items and our normal Collector’s Corner offerings. To hear that our new website was “the straw that broke the camel’s back� is amazing to me as we have and will do anything to make our customers happy.

Since we bought FFE a there has been an explosion of OLS’s who have mostly modeled their businesses to some extent on the original FFE concept. Despite this FFE still offers what we think is an awesome variety of livestock at very competitive prices. FFE pioneered the WSIWYG (what you see is what you get) concept for purchasing corals and clams and to this day you can pick the exact specimen you want from our tanks for prices that are WAY lower than those our predecessors charged for the same items. Our super specials are the lowest we have seen and, in many cases, are the same as those prices charged by the wholesalers here in LA. We have introduced all kinds of aquacultured products like our cultured fish from Tahiti, our Aqua Jewels, and other farmed products. Our new dry goods department, while still awaiting product images and descriptions (work is in continuous progress on this front), now offers a range of products that is competitive with any in the industry. We will also be introducing all kinds of new and state-of-the-art products from Germany in the upcoming months (T-5 lighting, new computer controllers, aquarium treatments, filtration, etc).

Having said all of this it is inconceivable to me why the launching of this new website, with all the effort and care that has gone into it, could be the “straw that broke the camel’s back� for anyone. Surely the quality of the animals, the pricing, the shipping rates, the customer service, the variety of products, and the pure concern for the customer would be the primary things that would separate one company from another. We understand that our link to you is via our website, but for us the MOST important things are those items I have just listed. Not to say that the website is not important, and I reiterate that we are working as hard as we can to solve the problems and improve the performance of the site, but the care and quality behind the scenes is our strength. We have the best group of people working for us that I have ever encountered. Every one of them takes a personal interest in his/her job and every one of them TRULY cares.

In closing all I can do is apologize once again for the problems. We have emailed everyone already and offered a $20 coupon basically just to say sorry. As you can see we are trying to get the new site worked out and we ask you all to bear with us for a while as the end result will, hopefully, be worth it all. In the meantime, if any of you want to contact me personally, please do so and I will do my best to get back to you ASAP. Bill (Chicagoreef), please drop me an email and let me know what I can personally do to make you a happy and satisfied FFE customer once again.

Sincerely,

Don Burdick

[SaltwaterSensei]

Your reply proves that your company is taking an effort to improve the currant website. You say your old site is archaic, I whole heartidly disagree the old site was beautiful. But you are making a effort and that good that you want to improve your suggested good customer service. As a suggestion you need to fire your currant webmaster and hire another, You never never never upload a new website with out it s working properly in all aspects. As stated above by another member, theres no excusses non, you go over the code and check for errors simple as that, well the concept is simple perhaps not the work.

II know that some of us, including myself, come off as harsh, well we are people that have probably ordered from you and had good experience now with the change we are not having a good experience and possibly don't understand how a company or why one would want to, go backwards in thier dealings.

[SteveMH]

What exactly was the "$20 coupon" good for? I assumed it is not good towards anything already on sale, since the coupon was not honored on my last order. Just wondering, because I had used the $20 Welcome Coupons in the past that were offered for all livestock purchases without any problem. :hmm2:

[ecugman]

I really LIKED the old site!

Not gonna beat a dead horse here, but this thread EXACTLY mirrors my thought process after attempting to order the live rock special yesterday. FFE is the only OLS I've ever used for live goods and I've been very pleased with all my past transactions.

I just emailed them concerning my order (if it was processed).

I'm sure they will get these problems ironed out and get back to being a great OLS.

[zooqi]

I have a cable and don't have problem uploading it. I had hard time finding the coral site. I liked the old site better and that is my openion. Better graphic in this one but is slower.

I checked the speed and tested it a speed of 40 kilobits per second (k) which is the average speed achieved using a 56k modem.

Total download time of the main page with all its elements was 46.633 seconds.
The average is 15 seconds.
Elements of the page downloaded without a problem.

This is the main page and not those with many pictures that I did not check.

Feel sorry for dialup users,,save the money that you were going to spend at ffx and get a cable
:D :D :D :D

[Desolas]

This sounds a lot like a "oh my god I hate change" type of argument.

The old site was archaic. It wasn't beautiful, it was old, barely organized, the colors sucked, the graphics sucked, and had no shopping cart. It was annoying, and kept me and probably many other people from shopping there. It is like going to the LFS located in the ghetto that is run out of a double-wide. They may have good intentions, but the presentation matters.

SaltwaterSensei: You may think you know what your talking about.

"As a suggestion you need to fire your currant webmaster and hire another, You never never never upload a new website with out it s working properly in all aspects. As stated above by another member, theres no excusses non, you go over the code and check for errors simple as that, well the concept is simple perhaps not the work."

Things come up that were checked. Unless you've been there, you have no idea how a mundane little problem can turn into a big issue. You say there is a 0 tolerance to problems like some gustapo facist. All it takes is a single line to differ from one server to another and it can cause a site-wide problem that isn't present immediatly or is easily overlooked. Which is why they test, and fix the bugs. In an ideal world you want no problems from the get-go, but the last thing you do is rip a guy a new one because he made an embarssing mistake. You come off as if they are doing it just to ***** with you. You can't just "go over the code" and go "oh my, there is an error" you can't unless you play-test the site...which they may have done, and whoever was pushing to have the site ready could have said "Lanch it, and get the problems fixed." I can't count the number of times as the designer someone has said "Thats fine, leave it, fix it after you put our site up."

You say fire the webmaster, when the webmaster 1) may not have even designed the site, and 2) it may not have been his call to put the site live with the errors.

It's as if you people go around looking for things to ***** about just to increase your post count here. Do you complain to the grocery store when they change do a reset also?

I thought this Forum, or most forums anyway, have a policy on not openly bashing on merchants?

[ffexpress]

Desolas,

Thanks for showing some understanding of the situation. You are 100% correct in your comments regarding the trials and tribulations of launching new sites and many of our problems stemmed exactly from the code performing differently under test conditions versus once it was loaded onto and launched on the server. I guess if we were a very large company with big bucks to throw around, we could have addressed these issues more thoroughly beforehand, but we are basically a small and intimate group doing our best with the resources we have at hand. Our size serves us well on the customer service end, but works against us when it comes to money/labor intensive projects such as this.

On a brighter note, our IT person is working right now on the following changes:

1) Making the web pages load faster for you dialup users. We will probably have to lose the flash graphic on the home page, but it is much more important to make the site more convenient.

2) Improving the search function and having it appear on every page. Also, adding a manufacturer choice t the search feature so that you can search for dry goods that way too.

3) Putting product choice buttons on every page so that you can jump instantly to any product you want at any time.

4) Improving the cache function of the site so that each page does not have to load again every time it is visited by you.

All of these things will GREATLY improve the user-friendlines of the site. These are all things that YOU have pointed out to us in your emails and posts and, as you can see, we are taking them very much to heart. So, please keep your suggestions and criticisms coming and we will keep working to make our site the best shopping experience possible.

Thanks for your continued patience and support.

Don Burdick

[zooqi]

The webmaster has done a very good job on the site and he gets a big credit for that. It is the flash that makes the sites slow. People like to see them but not everybody waits for it to load. Like any new site it will have things to be changed. I e-mailed one of the sponsored here yesterday and told them that he need to change some codes because is showing good for him and is not showing for others. Computer is taking the picture from his computer and showing him but I don't have direct contact to his computer to see it. This is normal and it happens. We take the new site that we build and view it in different browsers, screen size, computers , and check the connection before we FTP it to the server. I said that I liked the old one better because I was used to it or because I could find what I wanted easier but that does not mean that this site is bad. Our comments here make companes like FFE look good because as we see that they are checking on what we think of their company and explain. Thumps up FFE. I checked it with the dial up and it came up slow and many people have dial up connections.

[BarryF]

I like the site. A little tweaking and you'll be all set.


For those of you complaining about load-times, well, it is your choice not to have broadband when it is readily available in MOST areas. I do not understand the concept of having a $5,000 reef tank and not spending the extra $17-$20/month on ditching AOL (or whatever God awful ISP you're probably using now) and getting broadband. Therefore, I don't believe that you have the right to complain because you're being cheap. That's like complaining that you can't keep up with a Toyota Corolla because you're still driving a Model T.:rolleyes:


Secondly, I know that you all were familiar with the previous website, which is why it was so easy to navigate. This site is not exactly engineered for rocket scientists. I found the site to be easily negotiable and while it may have its quirks, it isn't necessarily an evil entity. More pictures would be nice and some of the features they will be providing don't currently work so, yes, it was a no-no to go live without everything at least in place (working or not due to unforseen errors).


I apologize for getting personal or attacking people, but the ludicracy, overall negativity, and rudeness astounds me from some of the people in this thread. Not buying from them because of the new site...:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[JarekP]

Well, I don't like the new site either. It is hard to navigate and sometimes obscure. Many options from the old website are gone - not only from web pages but also from FFE itself (ask them about Air Freight shipping). I am using cable modem and I don’t have problems with speed, this part works fine for me.

The web site IMHO needs much more than just tweaking to get right. And it is always possible to put both websites online for some time. Also the customer service is not as good as it was. My wife called them about shipping options for LR and they generally didn't want to discuss anything and weren't too polite. Well, we went to Jeff's Exotic Fish, the web site is much less "up to date" there, but we got everything we wanted :) plus some friendly advice. Well, I am staying with Jeff's for now...

My bet is that FFE will loose a significant part of the old customers especially that these guys are not beginners and they know the other options. Certainly FFE may gradually get new customers... I have been buying about 90% of my livestock myself in FFE over last 3+ yrs, so I feel a little like I lost a friend :(

And last comment: if I don’t like how a brick-and-stone LFS looks (inside) I don't go there. Same to web pages ;).

Jarek

[zooqi]

I guess that having a link in the new page to take you to the old page will take care of this. Yahoo did the same a couple of months ago and people started to go to the old site because they like it better. The thing is that FFExpress has links all over in other sites who are selling corals for FFE
like
https://carp.secure-host.com/ffexpress/
This is like the old site and most of the links work but there are some that don't

http://support.software911.com/ffexpress/

http://www.flyingfishexpress.com/setinverts.htm

and more

[DiscoToo]

Also the customer service is not as good as it was. My wife called them about shipping options for LR and they generally didn't want to discuss anything and weren't too polite.

This comes as a surprise as well as a disappointment. Can you drop me an email with whom your Wife spoke with here. Behavior like this is not tolerated under ANY circumstance. Your complaint should be addressed, even if you do decide to shop elsewhere, please assist us in offering a better experience to others.

ron@ffexpress.com

I have a pretty good idea of who you are, and I am very sorry to hear you will no longer be shopping with us. If there is anything I can do to correct the issue (s) let me know. We will do whatever it takes to keep your interest with FFE.

Ron
:bum:

[zooqi]

DiscoToo: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[zooqi]

DiscoToo: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I have not hear any better respond to a complain than this :thumbsup:

[AuroraDave]

Originally posted by BarryF
For those of you complaining about load-times, well, it is your choice not to have broadband when it is readily available in MOST areas. I do not understand the concept of having a $5,000 reef tank and not spending the extra $17-$20/month on ditching AOL (or whatever God awful ISP you're probably using now) and getting broadband. Therefore, I don't believe that you have the right to complain because you're being cheap.

This is completely inaccurate.
I live in the 3rd largest city in IL and do not have access to DSL or cable modem. Our CO (Central Office) has outdated eqp that doesnt permit DSL. Naperville, the 4th largest city, is across the street and there are areas that also do not have access.

This doesnt include rural areas and smaller cities throughout the US. Also, they are electricity based services, so distance is also an issue. I am not certain, but I think you need to be within 5 miles of the CO to qualify. DSL is also about $50/month, not $17.
Anyway, I would pay more than $50 just to get away from dialup

When designing store-fronts, I believe that it is important to take these issues into account, or your clients will hit "Stop" and go elsewhere. In all honesty, that is why I originally moved to RC. I stayed here because of the content and members.

[JarekP]

DiscoToo:

Thank you for your post, it is nice to hear that someone really cares. I appreciate it. Unfortunately it would be hard to find out now with whom we've talked - it was about 3 weeks ago and my wife didn't write down name. I would not bring it up myself, but when I've seen this thread about FFE web site I couldn't resist ... mostly because I also do care about FFE. However, your response made me feel that the old FFE is still out there despite the changes.

I was always visiting FFE first, and I still remember when your "Hobby Q&A" was just Fenner's weekly (or so?) articles and answers (and I didn't like changing it to "Hobby Q&A" either :) - it is less personal).

Of course I will come to FFE again and see if you've fixed (and improved) web pages (BTW when I click on "notes" icon close to a fish name I can get only minimal information - length and diet, and you had so good notes before!). About 3 weeks ago I was shopping for fish for my upgraded 180gal and for 240gal multi-tank breeding project - but this is done for now. However I still have another 180gal that I slowly fill with water and hope to start stocking soon :D ...

Another thing is Air Freight - when I want to buy 5-6 boxes of LR it does matter if I pay $27 shipping per box or $60...

Best,

Jarek

[SaltwaterSensei]

I think calling the issue/me a gastapo facist, is immature and definatly not constructive to the thread, at least in these issues. it shows weaknesses in your character I would feel, Attack the issues not the people;)

I must admit that I've only set up a several websites and never multi server systems. BUT I do understand html (as if that is realivent) and know that if you want to have a business its highly recomended to triple check and sometimes more if needed. I guess on multi server situations one can get tired or even lazy(not saying ffx got lazy, giving an example) so I suppose most can't expect to have the perfect website - no one could possibly have one. unless possibly done by some perfect wizard program.

I do admit that the site is very pretty the graphics can load fast for what it is when you get the site on a good hour, and of course OF COURSE the webmaster has skill other wise I would hope that ffx wouldn't have hired them, if they even have a seperate one, I'm not knowing thier situation.;) I never said its always the situation

But you seem qiuck to jump the gun, a attribute quite common on reef central that alot of nice people(not saying you're not nice I don't know you) do have to deal with. I try to hold myself above in higher regard, not because I'm a better person, but rather I hate confrontation and feel its best to work past it as it makes the forums better. I'm just saying that theres ALOT of people that are way biased(once again not saying you're the culprit, I don't know you) and seem too quick to jump the gun. If you're going to think I'm "going back on what I had originally stated", you couldn't possibly be more wronge, you could try, but you would not be successful. I am simply elaborating on what I had orginally said:)


Also I previous post was probly 10 percent true fact or feeling, and 90 percent venting. I'm mean come on, if you had a website you really loved and liked , then all of a sudden with out you knowing it it changes and you can access it with the same accessability as before, I ask wouldn't you be a bit spastic?

All in all I still think FFX is still a great company I mean if they weren't they wouldn't be here asking for constructive critisizisms. and wanting to help us, because after all we're what keep FFX alive in some ways. FFX DOES indeed have good customer services, I have ordered from them and talked to them on the phone and they were very polite and ery help, thats definatly not deniable.

But I have one thing left to say. YES its a fact they still have alot of work YES they have had problems, YES thier old site was better (but thats just my opinion) YES perhaps thier webmaster was fatiqued and didn't double check or some small trivial thing like that and YES they are making a great effort.


So I guess what I'm trying to say is, gease some of use need to calm down, I include myself, some more then others, If they are making an effort then why are we still posting?

:eek1:

[birder2]

FFExpress;

Even though I bought my LR from one of your competitors because your new website didn't have everything up and running which caused me to second guess doing business with you, your reputation over the years has been so positive that I plan to do business with you in the future. If I have problems with the website, I'll give you a call. In fact, I felt so gun-ho about doing business with you, I still feel guilt about doing business with some other company.

birder2

[DiscoToo]

birder2

Even though I bought my LR from one of your competitors because your new website didn't have everything up and running which caused me to second guess doing business with you, your reputation over the years has been so positive that I plan to do business with you in the future. If I have problems with the website, I'll give you a call. In fact, I felt so gun-ho about doing business with you, I still feel guilt about doing business with some other company.

No worries, its totally understandable. I even had second thoughts showing up to work the Monday after the website was posted:D

All kidding aside, the least I could offer you is a new tank discount, technically its only offered if YOU buy the rock from US. So in this case how about we look the other way on the "US" part;)

JarekP

I understand your frustration with air freight shipment versus FedEx. We will always offer air freight if it makes the sale. However I do not believe express air freight is 27 per Box. Its quite possible, but from what I recall the least expensive is 85 cents per pound (before the recent rate increase). Our frustration with airfreight is problems with cargo being offloaded if the flight is booked or connecting flights being missed as a result of flight delays. Also our largest frustration is poor handling on the packages. We never have a problem shipping air cargo, provided a flight is available from us to you (direct or connecting) and you understand that we cannot be held responsible for the condition of the items once received, also keep in mind it is generally sent freight collect, yet there may be times (depending on carrier) that freight be paid in advance. There have also been times where (for example) you are quoted one price by an airline and we are quoted another price when we deliver the package to the airline. It quite frustrating for us and very time consuming, but we will still offer it to close the deal. I could tell you some horrible stories about air freight, but I'll save for another time.

Take care all

Ron

[Cakepro]

I don't understand all the posturing about deciding to no longer be an FFE customer. They changed their website, not owners, staff, location, suppliers, and everything else. So there are glitches in the site ~ what is so all-fired horrible about picking up the phone to call in your order? It's not as great as sitting in your jammies at 2 in the morning clicking stuff into your shopping cart, but making human contact the next morning is not a big deal. So you have to click 20 times to get to where you want to go, and it's not a happy sunny yellow site anymore? Surely they'll take all these things into consideration and continue to make it more user-friendly. ;)

You know, all you whiners out there just do business somewhere else...quite frankly, I'm tired of there being so many customers that I keep missing those beautiful acro's in the Awesome Corals section. *Heh heh* :D

By the way, I live in the fourth largest city in AMERICA and there are areas where broadband and/or DSL are not available...my particular area just got broadband in September! (Thank God!!)

~ Sherri

[ffexpress]

Folks,

Thanks for your understanding. We all know that the new site has been a little on the "buggy" side and that everyone deserves a good vent once in a while. We WILL get this site to where you want it to be. Just have a little more patience and keep those suggestions and comments coming! Keep the faith (Lord knows we are).

Don

[SteveMH]

Originally posted by Cakepro
You know, all you whiners out there just do business somewhere else...

Ok. :)

[organicreefer]

ive ordered from ffexpress many times in the past and have been satisfied-but the slow website is enough of a turnoff that i havent even been checking the site like i used to(well that and the tank is pretty full too.:D )....i hope they get it worked out- they are a good outfit-but one thing is for sure -that website "upgrade" is costing them business..........

[jhchan02]

What happned to all of the coral selection FFExpress used to have? I remember the hard corals being like 2 pages and there being more softies too. Seems to me that some livestock is not being offered anymore.

[Wilafur]

hi ron (DiscoToo),

i sent you an email concerning an order i recieved today and have not yet heard back. please check your email for i look forward to hearing from you.

Wilbur

[Ben CC]

Sadly, I tried to order from FFexpress last night and the combination of aggravation figuring out the website and, as JHchan02 said, reduction in inventory caused me to give up.
I have been an occasional FFexpress customer in the past and I will try again later, but for now I am going to look elsewhere.

[DiscoToo]

Its all the same inventory, even the item numbers are the same. If your having trouble locating an item, you can always drop me an email or give us a call and we'll help you locate it.

Thanks

Ron

[baron_vonklyff]

All of the items are still there. I was thrown by this at first, but each section is separated into multiple pages with only about 10 items per page. Unfortunately, it is not intuitively obvious that there are multiple pages, and due to the color scheme the "Next" button (listed only at the bottom right of each page) does not stand out and therefore is easily missed.

Like others, I was initially upset with the changes, and frustrated with the persistent bugs. However, after playing with the site, and learning to navigate it, it is starting to grow on me. I do hope that they work the bugs out, and change the gloomy color scheme back to a more bright and inviting color that does not mask the features of the site like the current "aqua" scheme does.

I have been a loyal customer of FFE for several years, and I look forward to ordering from them again in the future.

[jhchan02]

Kinda funny...I just noticed the next button like a few minutes ago. Like you said though it was not really obvious....looks like its got web camo on. Its a relief to know that they still have all of their livestock available.

[bookem]

:confused: You know im puzzled about a couple of things. First everyone is busy complaining about how they do this wrong, the web site looks bad, it loads slow, ect... Buy from somewhere else if it is that big of a problem.
Second, I buy regularly from FFE for approx. 1 1/2 years now and on a monthly bassis I do a group ship for myself and 8 others. Yes the new site is a little akward and yes there might be a shortage on the shipment due to "out of stock" issues(remember as it is everywhere else in the world "first come first serve") but they still get my business. I never have to worry about the quality of items. Yea, I have had several d.o.a. 's and broken products and forgotten items but they have always corrected the mistakes/problems to my satisfaction.
I am one of who knows how many thousands of satisified customers that will always continue to buy from FFE and I recommend them to any and everyone that has the time to talk to me about my 4 marine tanks.
If your that upset because they are going through changes (hopefully for the better and continued high quality that I have grown accustomed to) and there are a few bumps in the road, find another supplier and quit wasting their time. I hope for many more years of continued business with them. To FFE,Thanks.
Charles King.
From lovely NASHVILLE,TN.